u/pokersi

for example, Old Joe Clark, demonstrated in the Lessons with Marcel video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz9l_uQ1mBM&t=274s

sounds nothing like the 'Old Joe Clark's on Spotify by John Hartford, Grisman/Rice, Sam Bush

perhaps my bluegrass listening is just so untrained that i can't pick up the shared melody at all with the increased tempos on studio recordings, but i'm really not hearing any similar licks

i'm reviewing some of these Marcel videos to get a general idea of the melody, then want to learn to play them by ear, but all the recordings sound so different

is there an artist or two that has studio recordings of fiddle tunes that would be the most appropriate versions to learn by ear? feeling a bit lost trying to follow the guidance of learning fiddle tunes, but all the recordings are vastly different interpretations... looking to find the most standard versions

Hello!

I bought my first mandolin (Eastman 315) last week after spending my whole adult life focused on electric guitar. I moved across the country a few years ago and left my old rock band behind, and I haven’t really been able to find a musical community since. I’ve tried Craigslist, Facebook groups, blues jams, and nothing really clicked.

It started to get to me. Not having people to play with has felt pretty unfulfilling. I found my state’s bluegrass association site and saw there are jams almost every day, and I’ve always been curious about the genre, so I impulsively picked up a mandolin and started working on it, hoping this might be the community I’ve been missing.

From what I’m seeing in videos, it feels like 95% of the time mandolin is doing those muted “chop” chords for rhythm. Am I right that these are basically meant to be purely percussive? Like, there’s almost no reason to let the chord ring out? Even a little sustain sounds off to me compared to recordings. It almost feels like the fretting hand is just there to create the mute.

Lead playing will come with time, but I want to get into jams and be able to hold down rhythm ASAP. I’m learning the chop shapes since they seem essential, but am I on the right track playing them fully muted like this? It barely seems like there’s reason to finger a chord shape vs. laying left hand against frets just to mute

Thanks for reading and for any input!

learning fiddle tunes - which recordings/artists are the standards to reference?